Telefónica S.A.'s (TEF: Quote,TDE.L) fully-owned Telefónica Móviles Colombia, S.A., the Colombian government and Colombia Telecomunicaciones, S.A. ESP entered into a final agreement to restructure their fixed and mobile business in Colombia. Such deals include the assumption by the Government of 48% of the payment obligations not yet due of Colombia elecomunicaciones, S.A. ESP to the Patrimonio Autónomo Receptor de Activos de la Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones - PARAPAT, the company noted.

In addition, the agreements signed also comprise an amendment to the Operating Contract for the extension in 6 years, to 2028, of the payment obligations not yet due of Colombia Telecomunicaciones, S.A. ESP to the PARAPAT. As a result, the net financial debt which would be fully consolidated in the financial statements of the Telefónica Group, would fall by around 1.30 billion euros.

Upon the completion of the merger between Colombia Telecomunicaciones, S.A. ESP and Telefónica Móviles Colombia, S.A., Telefónica would hold 70% of the share capital of the resulting company while the Government would control the remaining 30%. Likewise, by virtue of the deals reached, the Government could increase its stake in the merged company in an additional 3% by 2015, based on its operating performance.

U.S. electronics giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) regained the top spot in the world smartphone market from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. after a gap of three years, according to a report released Tuesday by market research firm Gartner, Inc. (IT).
Apple sold 74.832 million smartphones in the...